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Herniated Disc Treatment: How Beneficial Is Physical Therapy For Pain Relief?

9th February, 2010 - Posted by health news - No Comments

Physical therapy is one of the most common herniated disc treatments prescribed, and a lot of people wonder how helpful it is and if it’s worth the time and effort you have to put into it.

The short answer is yes, it is worth it and it is helpful, but it is only a part of the puzzle when trying to heal a bulging disc.

Statistically speaking, physical therapy is helpful about 50% of the time with this condition, but that is because most individuals are not told that they need to continue with their exercises even after they are released from physical therapy.

Most health care providers will recommend one or two months of physical therapy to a person who has been diagnosed with a bulging disc, but the fact of the matter is that it can take years for a disc condition to completely heal if it ever does. So, can you see the discrepancy?

Many will experience relief from physical therapy, but the pain almost always comes back because they don’t realize that the exercises you learn are supposed to be continued for the long term if you want the best results. In addition to this, physical therapy focuses on the muscles that surround the slipped disc (which certainly provides benefit), but it doesn’t directly address the main problem which is the protruding disc itself.

The purpose of physical therapy with this condition is to strengthen the muscles that surround the injured disc, thus releasing pressure on the disc so it is able to heal properly. One of the major purposes of the disc is to act as a ligament, holding the vertebrae of the back in proper alignment.

If the disc becomes injured, this purpose can not occur because the disc is too weak. So, the muscles have to take on this purpose in order to stabilize the spine. In addition to that, if the muscles that surround the spine are weak, the disc will have added pressure on it and it will become more damaged over time.

So, there is certainly good reason for a person going through a program of physical therapy when they have a herniated disc. The problem is that it takes at least 3 months before a muscle will show considerable improvement in strength, so if you stop after your recommended treatment plan with your physical therapist, you aren’t getting the full benefit of their care.

In addition to that, strengthening the muscles that surround the injured disc is only a part of the solution. You have to understand that this condition is very complex, and if you don’t do anything to encourage the disc itself to heal, the problem will never heal properly even with physical therapy.

There are actually a number of additional treatments that need to be performed at the same time you’re going through physical therapy treatments if you are wanting to experience the best results that last for a longer period of time. You can learn more about the most effective combination of treatments by clicking the following link (bulging disc therapy).

If you’ve found this article educational, and you would like to get the answers to the 20 most frequently asked questions individuals have about treatments for a herniated disc, you can click the following link (herniated disc treatment).